Mainz 1661 kreuzer
This specimen was part of lot 4735 in Künker sale 386 (Osnabrück, March 2023), which sold for €85 (about US$110 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"MAINZ, ERZBISTUM, Johann Philipp von Schönborn, 1647-1673. Kreuzer 1661, MF, Mainz, (2x). Dazu: 7x Schüsselpfennige o. J. 9 Stück., Schön-sehr schön. (archbishopric of Mainz, John Philip of Schonborn, 1647-73, kreuzers of 1661, Mainz mint plus seven undated pennies. Nine pieces, fine to very fine.)"
The archbishops of Mainz were prolific issuers of gold coins in the late middle ages but output dropped in the late fifteenth century, never to recover. This one year type is not listed as expensive but is doubtless very scarce in nice condition. Collectors of the time, who were few, did not bother with low value coins for the peasants.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver or billon.
Catalog reference: KM 115, Slg. Walther 313, 290; Slg. Pick 434, 414.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 386: Brakteaten | Mainz | Bibliothek Prof. Dr. Niklot Klüßendorf | Mittelalter und Neuzeit | Goldprägungen | Deutsche Münzen ab 1871, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2023.
Link to: